Motion-transmitting cables are used in a variety of applications, including, in particular, vehicle transmissions and accelerators. These cables are generally provided with a core wire surrounded by a conduit. The cable functions by allowing movement of the core wire relative to the conduit.
In many applications, such as transmission shift and accelerator controls, achieving a specific length of a motion transmitting cable is critical. Prior art motion-transmitting cable assemblies for these applications include length adjusting mechanisms to compensate for variations in distances between mounting points for the cables. These prior art cable assemblies generally adjust the length of the conduit by providing a conduit separated into two parts surrounding a single core wire. A two-part, telescoping housing is provided wherein each part of the conduit is connected to one part of the telescoping housing. The length of the conduit is adjusted by varying the extent to which the two parts of the housing telescope over one another.
The prior art length adjustable cable assemblies are limited to a single cable assembly including a single core wire, two conduit sections surrounding the core wire and a two-part telescoping housing. An improved length adjustable cable assembly would consist of two entirely separate conduit/core wire assemblies that can be positively joined together and would also allow fine adjustment of the overall length of the joined assemblies. Such an assembly would provide improved flexibility for configuring and installing the cable.
The present invention is directed to addressing the need set forth above.